Xander and Matt
by Silver261
Summary: This is the story of me and my brother's Spartans: Xander-015 and Matt-012. (I apologize for the crappy summary.) Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Halo franchise. That belongs to Bungie, 343i, and Microsoft. I only own my OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: *gasp* look! I wrote a fanfiction! Holy crap! Well, if anyone reads this, comment if you liked it or not. If you didn't I will cease writing more chapters.**

Dr. Catherine Halsey got out of the car and donned her straw hat. She was glad to be out of that vehicle; it had taken two hours to get here. This house was almost in the middle of nowhere, and considering that this place was on the Fortress planet of Reach, it was a bit unusual, with all the cities people could live in. There should have been some air transport, or a tram-way; something. There were too many trees for a helicopter to land, and there were only one-lane roads here.

She stretched and let out a sigh, "Damn I'll hate getting back in there… Jacob, can you quicken your pace? I want to find these Candidates. We're already behind schedule."

A young man, Lieutenant Junior Grade Jacob Keys, exited the car's driver side and looked around. He walked up next to Halsey, looking a bit tired.

"Excuse me if I'm tired. I've been driving for two hours," said Keys, "Which kid are we looking at now?"

"Kids, plural, there are two this time."

Keys looked at her in surprise, "Two? We've been to over fifty worlds and looked at over a hundred kids, and they've all been one kid at a time. Why are there two this time, a coincidence?" He stared, waiting for an answer.

She looked at him, then towards the small house next to the forest, "You could say that…" she pulled out her mini data pad and turned it on. CANDIDATE-012 and CANDIDATE-015 popped up, "The two candidates we are looking for are related, brothers actually." She showed him the pictures under each Candidate's number.

Keys looked at them. 015 had dark brown hair, which needed a haircut. It was disheveled. His eyes were colored turquoise. 012 was the same, but with hazel colored eyes and his hair cut short. Along with the small differences that made any brother look different from the other. He looked at the ages… only a year apart, five and six years old. He felt that feeling in his gut, that this was wrong. They were in _kindergarten_ for Christ's sake. He stopped that line of thought though. Like he said earlier, he had been doing this for over fifty worlds already. He looked up to see Dr. Halsey with a look of deep thought, "…Doctor?"

Halsey looked back at him and motioned towards the house saying, "The data pad says they aren't in the house. They're in the forest behind it. If they're back there, we may be able to meet them without encountering their parents." She would have gone to see them at a school… if they went to one. They were home schooled, so they had to go to _their _house. "Come on, we need to get going," she began walking around the house and looked back to see Keys following close behind.

They made it to the back, only for Halsey to sigh in frustration. There was a woman sitting on the back porch of the house. She was staring out into the forest, but turned towards Halsey and Keys when they rounded the corner. She looked a bit surprised to see them.

"What brings you two all the way out here?" Her accent sounded normal, no foreign language. That was good. Halsey thought up an immediate counter response.

"A survey. We're part of an organization for public schools. We need to see if a home-schooled child learns better than one from a public school. I just wish we didn't need to drive for two hours to get some results," the last part was entirely true, "We were told you have a home-schooled child here? In kindergarten I believe."

The woman looked back at the forest, "Two in fact. May I ask who you are?"

"Amy Frasier. And this," she motions towards Keys, "is Jeremy Wilson. Are your children inside?" She asked knowing full well that they weren't.

"No, they're in the woods over there. This is their summer, so no schooling right now. I recommend you don't go in there to get them. They're playing paintball with their father and a few of his friends."

"Wait, you have Kindergarteners playing _paintball_ against older men?" Keys asked, taking a step forward. Halsey put a hand in front of him.

"Yes, it provides quite the challenge."

"Of course it does, two kids against a few grown men sounds challenging for the kids." Keys wondered why they would pit these two against impossible odds like this.

"Xander and Matt think its fun. They've won three times so far."

"Out of how many rounds?" asked Keys.

"Seven today so far," The woman got up and handed Keys a data pad, "We have some cameras set up around the area. I've been watching every round. Matt, the younger one, seems to be a distraction for Xander most of the time. I don't know how they do it, but they get into the trees without branches to climb up."

Keys looked at the data pad. The screen switched to the cameras that detected movement. When there was movement on separate cameras, the screen split to show the feed of each camera. It was just one screen, and it tracked the six men they were talking about… but not the kids. The men were in combat fatigues and what looked like a version of the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper helmet. It looked like they were talking to each other. Keys turned on the audio.

"_-ould split up. Your kids can't 'kill' us all at once when we do, right?"_

"… _Yeah. But keep your comms on, and make sure you brought enough TTR. Don't want to run into them with only a few rounds now do you?"_

"_Damn, why couldn't we do normal paintball? I hate freezing up from these training rounds."_

Keys looked at their guns, and realized they were MA5s. He looked up at the woman and asked, "Are these men Marines? Is that how they got MA5 Assault Rifles and Tactical Training Rounds?"

She smiled, but shook her head, "No, only my husband. He got them from"— she was cut off by an 'Ow!' from the data pad, "Looks like they should have split up sooner."

One of the men was on the ground, red paint covering the front of his helmet. He looked like he was a statue that was pushed over, still holding his gun the way he was when he "died."

"_God dammit, where are they?! I can't see … aw, shit, I'm dead!"_

"_Run!"_

"_No, shoot at that tree!"_

The men shot at a tree and two figures fell out of the leaves into a bush. One of the men walked over to the bush and checked them.

"_We got 'em."_

"_Hell yeah we did!"_

"_How many of us died this time?"_

"_Two"_

"_Get out the baton and 'revive' our dead buddies over there."_

One of them pulled out a baton and turned it on, it glowed blue. He went over to their 'dead' comrades and waved it over them, deactivating the TTR. They did the same for the Candidates. Keys looked up once again to see the woman shaking her head.

"How many times do I have to tell them to stop cursing around my children?" She held out her hand and Keys gave her back the data pad, "Would you like to speak with them when they get back?"

Keys was about to answer her when Halsey cut in, "No, that's fine. We may or may not come back later. Farewell." She tugged on Keys' arm and he followed. Once they got to the car Halsey hesitated. She dreaded getting back in there after such a short break, but they needed to go, "Let's get going. I've seen all I need to see."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next one. Won't be putting another one for a week or so.**

[Two weeks later]

Two boys walk out the back door of the house. Behind them, words float out the door; and they weren't happy ones.

"I don't care if they love paintball! If you bring those 'friends' over again, they'll be cussing up a storm around my kids!"

"_Your_ kids?! Woman, I"—the argument was cut off when the two boys shut the door. They looked at each other, and then walked towards the forest in their back yard. After about a minute of walking they sat down on a log.

Matt turned towards Xander and asked what was on both their minds, "Which one will win Xander?"

"I think Mom. Dad always listens to her."

"But Dad sounded super mad."

"Mom too… Will they tell us no more paintball?"

Matt got up and kicked a pebble, "I don't want to. I like paintball."

The pebble that Matt kicked flew through the air and collided with something, as matt expected, but it didn't make the sound of hitting the ground. It made an"Ow" Sound. Both the boys looked in the direction of the noise.

A man in a black suite and sunglasses walked out from behind the tree, holding the pebble. He walked at a slow pace towards Xander and Matt all the while tossing the pebble in to the air and catching it.

"Hey kids. Someone very important would like to see you. Will you make things easy and come with me?"

Xander took a step back and pulled Matt with him, "Our mom said not to talk to strangers. And you look super strange."

"Yeah," Matt said, "You don't wear sunglasses in the shade."

The man immediately put a finger to his ear, "They aren't cooperating. Plan B."

Xander was trying to figure out what "Plan B" and "Cooperating" meant when something stuck into Matt's arm. They both looked at it and Matt pulled it out. It looked like a dart for the game they played with their dad. But Matt's eyes started drooping and he fell over.

"Matt!" Xander crouched down and tried to shake him awake, but a dart hit him too. He pulled it out as fast as he could. He figured it must have something to do with putting matt to sleep. But it was too late, everything started to get blurry, and things looked like they were spinning. Xander fell over and looked at the man with the sunglasses. He could hear him talking.

"That was actually pretty funny…"

Xander then blacked out.

* * *

And then woke up in what looked like a helicopter. Things were still a little blurry, but he could see Matt next to him, knocked out. Outside, he saw Matt again; strange. _Matt can move really fast…_ he thought, but his vision cleared up and he saw something even stranger. He saw himself. That couldn't be right. He was right here, not over there. He lifted his head and looked at himself. Yep, he was still him, but his clothes were different. They were grey, and his shirt wasn't a t-shirt anymore. The sleeves were longer. His shorts got longer too.

He turned his head towards Matt; his clothes were the same as his. But why wasn't he waking up? No, why were they in a helicopter? Why were their cloths different? Why were there two of them? He tried to get up, but his arms and legs felt really heavy. He heard footsteps, and some voices.

"Flash clones are being sent back to the Candidates house."

"Excellent work, let's get these kids secured. Halsey wants the ASAP," the man in black was walking towards him but he stopped when he looked at Xander.

"Damn, this kid's awake. Get another dart."

"How? Hell, it's like that Naomi girl… At least this one's not beating the crap out of us like the team that picked her up. Here"

Xander saw the man in black get handed another dart, he wanted to get out of here, but he could barely move his arms. The man crouched down and he felt a poke in his arm. A few seconds later he passed out again.

* * *

[2 days later]

Xander and Matt walked in a single file line with a bunch of other kids through long hallways. Next to each of the children was an adult. Matt heard one of the other adults call them "Handlers" and "Drill Instructors."

Each and every one of the kids, Xander and Matt included, had not had enough sleep in the last two days. They all had circles of fatigue around their eyes, and one kid fell asleep walking.. Only to be yanked up by a Handler and slapped awake. Xander quietly told Matt to stay awake as long as he could.

The Handler led the kids through some big double doors into an even bigger room. It was round, but not all the way. It had three flat walls, and one curved. "Amphitheater" is what was on the sign next to the door. Xander vaguely remembered it was for lectures –that's what his mother said she did in school - or something like that. Matt looked and saw more doors opening, with even more kids coming out, along with their Handlers. He turned and poked Xander, pointing at the other kids. Xander nodded.

The Handlers sat them each in a seat. They all looked at the stage and saw a woman there. Right behind her was a man with grey hair and a bunch of ribbons and medals on his shirt. Over on a pedestal was a woman. But she was odd. She wore a robe of some kind and held flat rocks with markings in her hand... And she was blue; that was another obvious defining feature.

"Hey, it's an AI," Xander heard one kid say. AI? He'd seen one on TV before, never in person.

"I've never seen an AI in real life before."

Xander was interested in the AI, but he was still confused. Why were they here? Why were there so many kids? When could they go home? He saw a few kids try to get up and leave, but they were shoved back down by their Handlers. _I guess we can't leave…_ he thought. The lady, not the AI, took a step forward and began to speak.

"You have been called upon to serve," she said, "You will be trained… and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."

Xander sat straighter. This sounded interesting. It sounded like she was asking them to help her with something. But why would she need help? Matt looked the same way, he leaned forward a little bit.

The woman looked around, and fixed her gaze on one boy. He had brown hair, some freckles, and a Band-Aid on his left cheek. He looked a little confused, but was listening.

The woman began speaking again, "This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents."

Xander didn't like the sound of that at all. He couldn't go home? He needed to go home! He had school stuff to do, and he wanted to play more paintball with his dad! He tried to get up, but was shoved back down by his Handler. Matt looked at him, a frown on his face.

"This place will become your home," said the lady in a tone that Xander and Matt only heard from their mother. Soothing, but that made him want to go home more. She continued, "Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The Training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it."

The woman had a sad expression for a second after saying that, but immediately reverted back to a neutral one.

"Rest now," she said, "We begin tomorrow." She turned to the man with grey hair and medals. "Have the children… the Trainees escorted to their barracks. Feed them and put them to bed"

"Yes ma'am," he said and then he turned towards Xander, Matt, and the other children shouting, "_**FALL OUT!**_"

The Handlers got all the children up and Matt did his best to stay close to Xander. It was difficult since all the kids were headed out the same door this time. Before the door shout behind them, Xander heard the woman talking to the AI and grey haired man.

"Keep them busy tomorrow. Keep them from thinking about what we've just done to them."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well here's another. A week later like I said. I will try to keep it as a weekly update. 1-2 chapters each update.**

It was a wasteland; nothing but sand in any direction from where Xander stood. He looked around trying to find… something. He couldn't remember, he just knew he needed to go… that way. He began walking north.

At least, he thought it was north. North could be in any direction, the sun was in the exact center of the sky. So he just kept walking in that direction. As he walked on he saw a bed fade into view. It had seemed to come out of nowhere, but he ignored that. He realized he was very tired, so he walked faster towards the bed. Once he got there he didn't hesitate to get under the covers.

It wasn't very comfortable, but it would do. As he lay there, he heard a faint voice. It slowly got louder, but then went full volume.

"Wake up, Trainee!"

Xander felt a shock to his stomach and he fell off the top bunk of the bunk bed. He landed hard on his back and his head slammed on the floor. It hurt almost as much as the pain he felt in his gut. Xander opened his eyes, seeing stars… and a man with a metal baton above him. The man shocked him with the stick again.

"I said get _UP_! Did you hit your head as a baby Trainee?! You are _down. _Get UP!"

The man kicked Xander in the leg, it hurt but Xander got up anyway. Where was he? He couldn't remember – oh wait. He was at the place with all the beds. He looked around. All those other kids were here too, so he was still away from home. He wanted to go home so much—

He was pushed forward from behind, accidentally ramming into someone. He and the person he rammed into fell over. Xander got up as quick as he could, he didn't want to get shocked again. He turned towards the person he knocked over and held out a hand to help him up. He took it and stood up and looked at Xander. A smile replaced the frown on Xander's face. Matt smiled too.

The happy moment ended all to fast as the man from yesterday, the one with grey hair, started talking.

"I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez," he said in a loud voice, "The rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times." Mendez pointed to the far end of the cinderblock building they were in. "Showers are aft. You will all wash and then return here to dress." He opened a trunk at the foot of a bed and pulled out a matching pair of grey sweats. On the chest of the sweats there was a name and a number. This one read JOHN-117.

"No slacking. On the double!" Mendez then zapped the boy that the sweats belonged to. "I mean it! Go Go GO!"

Xander and Matt ran into the shower room and stripped off their nightshirts; getting onto a conveyor. They were washed in lukewarm soap water, and then rinsed in frigid cold water. Xander got off shivering.

They then ran back to their bunks and opened the chest. Xander pulled out the sweats, underwear, thick socks, and a pair of combat boots. He got all of them on; the boots fit perfectly. His name was on this shirt too. It read XANDER-015. He looked over at Matt, two bunks away. His said MATTHEW-012.

Mendez announced, "Outside, trainees. Triple time… _march!_"

All of the kids stampeded out of the barracks – onto a strip of grass. The sun was still below the horizon, tinting the early morning sky a shade of pink. The boots of the children were wet from morning dew on the grass. To Xander's left and right were rows of barracks, no one but them were outside though. Above them a pair of jets flew by, and zoomed over the tree line. Seconds later they heard a metallic crackle.

"You will make five equal-length rows," Chief Petty Officer Mendez barked, "fifteen trainees each."

Mendez watched as they shuffled about into uneven rows. "Straighten those rows. You know how to count to fifteen, trainee? Take three steps back."

Xander stepped into the third row, next to Matt. Xander looked forward and started thinking about what had happened. He was taken away by a man in a black suit, Matt too. They were taken to a building and were told to "wait while the other trainees arrive." Two days after that, yesterday, they were all told by the lady they couldn't go home—

"Jumping jacks!" Mendez shouted. "Count off to one hundred. Ready. Go!" The officer started the exercise and Xander stopped thinking about home to do jumping jacks. One boy, however, refused – for about a second. An instructor instantly whipped out a baton and smacked him dead-center in the stomach. "Get with the program, boot," the trainer snarled. The boy uncurled and started jumping.

Xander had done jumping jacks before, but this was too much. Ten times as much as he did before. His limbs burned, sweat trickled down his neck and back.

"Ninety-eight – 99 – 100." Mendez paused, and then drew in a deep breath. "Sit-ups!" He dropped to the grass and did one as an example. "Count off to one hundred. No slacking"

Xander, Matt, and the other children dropped to the ground and began.

"The first crewman who quits," Mendez said, "gets to run around the compound twice – and then comes back here and does _two hundred_ sit-ups. Ready… count off! One… two… three…"

Deep squats followed, then knee bends.

The kid a row in front of Xander, John-117, threw up. He didn't stop however, because a trainer walked right up next to him to make sure he didn't. Next to him Matt kept going, but he looked as exhausted as everyone else.

"Leg lifts." Mendez continued without pause, like a well oiled machine. He treated them as if they were machines .

They kept going and going. Nobody stopped, nobody complained. Everyone's bodies were about to collapse. If they stopped though, they'd get the metal baton. None of them wanted that.

"Rest," Mendez finally called. "Trainers: get the water."

The trainers wheeled out carts with water bottles on them. Xander rushed to get one. He pushed one kid out of the way and grabbed two, then rushed over to Matt, who was on the ground panting. Xander Helped Matt up and gave him a water bottle. Matt took it and nodded his thanks. They both gulped down the warm, slightly salty water and fell back down onto the grass.

Xander stared at the sky, the sun now up over to the side. It was warm. His arms were sticky with sweat, and he wanted to sit there forever. He got up anyway and looked around. All of the kids' clothes were soaked through with perspiration. They held their sides, crouched on the ground, panted; but no one talked.

Now Xander had time to think. Maybe he could convince the men to let him and Matt to leave? He wanted to see his parents again –

"A good start, trainees," Mendez told them. "Now we run. On your feet!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**A**__**/N: Well here's another one. This took a bit longer because I kept getting** interrupted._

"A good start, trainees," Mendez told them. "Now we run. On your feet!"

The trainers got out their batons and started to herd them toward a gravel path. Neither Xander nor Matt liked being herded like animals, but they sucked it up and kept going.

Once they were on the gravel path they started running down it, past more cinderblock barracks. The run went on for what seemed like hours. Xander tried to count the minutes that went by, but lost count at 47. It just kept going and going – they ran down the bank of a river, over a bridge, then parallel to the edge of a runway where the jets and other aircraft took off.

Once past the runway, Mendez led them on a zigzagging path of stone.

Xander wished this would stop. If he went any longer he could have a heart attack or something; maybe a heat stroke or even worse, just plain faint in the middle of the group. His muscles burned, his head ached, and his stomach growled – even that hurt.

Soon they ran into a courtyard of smooth flagstones. A flagpole in the center had the UNSC flag on it; a blue field with stars and Earth in the corner. Xander and Matt had both seen some pictures of Earth, both from space and on the surface. Their parents were both from Earth, specifically the United States of America. They told the boys what state they were from, but Xander forgot which one it was. Maybe Matt would remember when they got a chance to talk.

They kept running towards the far end of the yard where a building with a scalloped dome and white columns and dozens of wide steps leading to the entrance. The words NAVAL OFFICER ACADEMY were chiseled into the arch over the entrance.

A woman stood on the top step and beckoned them. She wore a white sheet around her body and she glowed blue. Xander realized it was the AI from the day before. She was transparent and everything. _I wonder what would happen if I walked through her…_ Xander thought. He almost did it right then but the AI told them to wait where they were.

"Excellent work Chief Petty Officer Mendez," said the AI in a resonant silk-smooth voice. She turned towards the children. "Welcome. My name is Déjà and I will be your teacher. Please come in. Class is about to start."

Several of the children groaned after they learned that even here they had to go to school. Xander and Matt, however, didn't. They were home schooled, and had classes almost every day. When they were taken away schooling was to start the next day. So for them, nothing had changed in this area.

Déjà had a sly look on her face. She turned around and started to head inside. "Of course," she said, "if you prefer to skip your lessons, you may continue the morning calisthenics."

Every single one of the kids double timed it up the steps.

Once inside a wave of cool air hit Xander. It was the best feeling ever. He looked around and found that there was a tray with crackers and a carton of milk had been laid out for each of them. They all took a seat and began decimating the snack. Xander gulped down his milk, and was about to eat his crackers when Déjà began telling a story. It was a historical battle about three hundred soldiers fighting off thousands of Persian infantry.

A holographic countryside appeared in the classroom. Xander got up and walked around the projection, as did others. There were miniature mountains and hills; next to that was an illusionary sea, which lapped at the toes of the children's boots. Miniature soldiers started to march towards what Déjà explained was Thermopylae, a narrow strip of land between steep mountains and the sea. There were thousands of the miniature soldiers marching towards a measly three hundred who guarded the pass. The two armies collided, weapons clashed, blood was spilled. It was an awesome sight.

Déjà explained that the three hundred were Spartans and they were the best soldiers who had ever lived. They had been trained to fight since they were children. No one could beat them.

Xander continued to watch the holographic Spartans slaughter the Persians. His stomach growled and he turned around and got his crackers. It didn't put a dent in his hunger. When was lunch time?

He turned back around to see the Persians break up and run for their lives, and the Spartans stood victorious on the field. The children cheered; they wanted to see it again.

"That's all for today," Déjà said. "We'll continue tomorrow and I'll show you some wolves. Now it's time for you to go to the playground."

"A playground?" Xander said smiling. He turned to Matt, "Do you think there will be a jungle gym?"

"… No. From what they made us do already. I don't think it's really a playground," Matt said with a frown.

"Oh come on Matt, we get to do something fun!"

"I'm not sure this will be very fun…"

The other trainees began running outside. Xander grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him along, "Come on, we don't want to be left behind."

They ran outside to find Chief Mendez and the other trainers standing there.

"Time for the playground," Mendez said, and waved the children closer. "It's a short run. Fall in."

The "short run" turned out to be two miles. Once they got there, Matt's assumption turned out to be correct. This did _not_ look like a playground. It was a forest of twenty-meter tall wooden poles. Rope cargo nets and bridges stretched between the poles; they swayed crossed and crisscrossed one another, a maze suspended in the air. There were slide poles and knotted climbing ropes. There were swings and suspended platforms. There were ropes looped through pulleys and tied to baskets that looked sturdy enough to hoist a person.

"Trainees," Mendez said, "form three lines."

The instructors moved in to herd them, but Xander, Matt, and the others made three rows without comment or fuss. Matt moved in behind Xander.

"The first person in every row will be team number one," Mendez said. "The second person in each row will be team number two…and so on. If you do not understand this, speak up now.

No one spoke. Xander understood perfectly, He and Matt were on separate teams. He was in team seven, Matt was in team eight. They were being separated again.

Xander looked to his right. Next to him was a boy with black hair. On his chest was the name FREDERIC-104. On the other side of Frederic was a girl with blonde hair cut short. Her name read RENÉ-081. He didn't know these people, how was he supposed to cooperate with people he didn't know?

"Today's game," Mendez explained, "is called 'Ring the Bell.'" He pointed to the tallest pole on the playground. It stood an additional ten meters above the others and had a steel slid pole next to it. Hung on the very top of that pole was a brass bell.

"There are many ways to get to the bell," he told them. "I leave it up to each team to find their own way. When every member of your team has rung the bell, you are to get groundside double time and run back here across the finish line."

Mendez took his baton and scratched d a straight line in the sand. Someone raised their hand, Xander looked and saw it was that freckled boy again, JOHN-117.

Mendez glared at him for a moment with those black unblinking eyes. "A question, Trainee?"

"What do we win?" asked JOHN-117.

Mendez cocked an eyebrow and appraised the boy. "You win dinner, Number 117. Tonight, dinner is roast turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, brownies, and ice cream."

A murmur of approval swept through the children.

"But," Mendez added, "for there to be winners there must be a loser. The last team to finish goes without food."

The children fell silent – and then looked at each other warily. Xander really wanted that food, and hope the two other team members were good at climbing.

"Make ready," Mendez said.

Xander turned towards his team, "Climb. Jump over everything. It's the fastest way."

The other two looked at him for a second, but nodded. Xander turned his head and looked at Matt. He nodded too and began relaying the plan to his team. Xander knew he shouldn't help another team, but he wanted Matt to get something to eat too.

"Go!" Mendez shouted.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This one didn't reach my goal of 1,000 words. I try to get at least a thousand words in each chapter. So sorry if this one's a bit short.**

"Go!" Mendez shouted.

Xander sprinted past multiple children and jumped onto a pole. A few feet above him there was a cargo net, he shimmied his way up and grabbed on. Once he was on he looked for his team. Fred was at the pole, and René was right behind him.

"Come on, hurry up!" Xander shouted down to them. "I really want some food!"

"You think we don't?!" Fred yelled back. He was already half-way up the pole. René was having trouble climbing up.

"Hey, Fred," Xander said, "I'm going over the net to help René, make sure I don't fall off please."

"Wait! What if you-" He didn't get to finish as Xander swung over the net holding on with one hand. He reached down his hand and René grabbed it. She was heavier than she looked, and he started slipping. He held on as much as he could, but his hand started to hurt.

"_Fred!_" Xander shouted straining.

"I'm on it!" Fred caught Xander's hand right as it slipped off and pulled him up. When Xander got up, he and Fred helped René.

"…Thanks," she said, "but we should stop standing around. That John kid is already way ahead of us."

She was right, Xander turned to see him go across a bridge, only for it to flip throwing five other kids into some water. He motioned for them to follow.

They climbed up nets, crossed bridges, and went across monkey bars. One kid tried to flip them off a bridge, but Fred and Xander got to the other side, picked him up, and threw him into the water. Finally, they made it to the bell pole. There was already a line of kids, but there were kids behind them too. That was pretty much a guarantee that they'd get dinner. Xander looked around for Matt, and was mildly surprised to find him a few people in front of him.

This put him at ease. They'd both get to eat.

Xander, Fred, and René finally made it to the pole. Fred went up, then René, and Finally Xander. Once they had all rang the bell, they went down the metal pole and crossed the finish line. Mendez nodded to them and made three checks on his clipboard.

The line got shorter and shorter, until the last two kids came down and crossed the finish line. Their shirts read KELLY-087 and SAMUEL-034. They walked over to John and glared at him. He shrugged.

Xander turned his head towards Fred. "He must have left his teammates behind."

Fred was watching as well. "If he was first, but the rest of his team was last… does that mean he gets to eat and they don't?"

"I hope he doesn't get to eat either. That was very mean of him to leave his friends behind," René said.

Xander turned toward where Mendez was. "Well, at least _we_ get to eat."

Mendez quieted them all. "Good work, Trainees," he said, beaming at them all. "Let's get back to the barracks and chow down."

All the children, mud covered, water logged, and covered in sweat cheered at this.

"– all except team three," Mendez said, and looked at Samuel, Kelly, and John.

John looked confused and angry. "But I won," he protested. "I was first."

"Yes _you_ were first," Mendez explained, "but your team came in last." He then addressed the rest of the children. "Remember this: _you_ don't win unless your team wins. One person winning at the expense of the group means that you lose."

John's mouth dropped open, and his teammates faces got read with anger, at John.

"Move out, Trainees," Mendez ordered.

On the way there Xander regrouped with Matt. They gave each other a high-five.

"I'm glad you got ahead of us," said Xander. "It would have sucked if you ended up like team three."

Matt smiled saying, "One of my teammates, Linda, found what she thought was the quickest way. There was a lot of running, jumping and climbing involved."

Xander laughed. "Perfect. No wonder you got there so fast. Anyway, my teammates seem all right. René is kind of slow though." Xander was then punched in the back of his head, "Ow!" He turned to see René glowering at him.

"I am _not_ slow. I just can't climb as well as you!"

Fred looks at her with a smirk, "A punch to the head… and a compliment?"

She turned towards him, "You want one too?"

Fred put up his arms in surrender and they continued running towards the barracks in silence. Once they arrived there was a feast waiting for them.

Turkey, delicious looking white meat covered in gravy. Big tubs of Vanilla ice cream and platters with a mountain of chocolate brownies on each one. It looked absolutely _beautiful_ to the children. They just stood there staring at the wonderful food until one kid ran towards the brownies. That started a chain reaction of kid after kid running at the food.

Xander got two plates of turkey and covered them both in gravy. Along with that he got a bowl and put a brownie in it then covered the brownie in ice cream. Matt did the same thing, but got a bit more than Xander did.

They ate until they were full. Xander knew not to eat more than that. If he did he would throw up and lose everything he just ate; it would have all been for nothing. Once the Trainees had all finished the instructors lead them back to their barracks and they all got ready for bed. Today was a very long day and most of the children went to sleep the instant their heads hit their flat pillow. Xander and Matt were no exception.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the two month wait. I went on vacation and played a bunch of online games with my friends. This one is one hundred words away from my usual goal, but I'm sure it's fine. To anyone who reads this, don't expect scheduled updates like a lot of the other authors on this site have. Mine will be random, and there could be a long wait. This chapter being a good example. Anyway, I hope I did well on this chapter, and I would like any constructive criticism you might have in a comment. Thank you.**

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"It's a brand new day, Trainee!"

Xander was zapped, but he knew better than to be slow today. He got up immediately and put on his clothes. It could be noted that there were few children resisting and getting zapped today. Once everyone was dressed and lined up, they went outside.

Today was the same as yesterday: jumping jacks, sit-ups, deep-squats, knee bends, leg lifts, a water break, and then the run to Déjà's classroom.

Today the classroom turned into a meadow, and seven wolves appeared along with a moose. The wolves stalked the moose for a minute, and then attacked in unison. When one wolf was distracting the moose, another would attack from a blind spot, this kept going until the moose was down. The wolves then devoured the animal. It was fascinating – and gruesome – to watch.

During the lesson they had gotten their snack of crackers. Xander was a little hungry so he turned around to get his crackers… only to find they weren't there. He was confused for a few seconds until he saw that boy again, John, stealing crackers from a couple of other trays. _He_ must have taken his crackers. Of course, this could be expected, seeing as John didn't get anything to eat the night before. So Xander let this one slide, he knew he'd have done the same thing in his shoes.

After class they ran back to the playground. However, today was different. There were fewer bridges and more complicated rope-and-pulley systems. The pole with the bell was now twenty meters taller than of the others.

"Same teams as yesterday," Mendez announced.

Xander found Fred and René. Everyone got into a line and Mendez walked over to the finish line.

Fred nudged Xander with his elbow and pointed at a few pulleys and bridges. He realized Fred was pointing out a path he thought would work. René was watching as well, looked at Xander, and nodded. They all agreed with Fred.

Xander couldn't help Matt today; his team was too far away. He just hoped his team knew what to do.

Mendez shouted, "Go!"

Xander ran towards the first place Fred pointed at, but was quickly overtaken by one of John's teammates, Kelly-087. She was ridiculously fast. She was a blur in his vision. Xander shook his head and kept running, she was going in a different direction than they were.

His team made it to a bridge, crossed it, and then went on to a pulley. They followed Fred's path and made it to the pole with the bell. They climbed all the way to the top and each rang the bell. Once they crossed the finish line, Xander looked to see who had beaten them. They had crossed the finish line at 7th place. It also looked like John had learned his lesson and worked with his team, because they were here too.

Fred patted both Xander and René on the back, "We did good. Good job team. We each win a cookie."

"You know," Xander said, "a cookie wouldn't be bad right now. I'm kind of hungry."

René agreed, "Me too. We get dinner, that's better than a cookie."

That reminded Xander that he needed to make sure Matt made it to the finish line. "Hey, I'm going to see if my brother made it in time." He left Fred and René and walked towards the finish line.

René watched him leave. "…His brother came with him?"

Fred shrugged his shoulders. "It could just be an excuse, but I think it's true. He and some other kid stick together a lot. They look alike too."

"Should we follow him? See if he's lying to us?"

"If you want to. I'll come with you if you go."

René looked towards Xander. He was talking to someone. "Let's go." The two began walking towards him.

Xander was happy to find that Matt and his team came a couple teams behind him. They gave each other a high five and talked a bit until Matt pointed out two people staring at them. Xander looked to see Fred and René watching and waved them over.

"This is my brother, Matt," Xander said with a smile to them. "We were hoping to be on the same team but it didn't really go our way."

"Hi," was all Matt said.

Fred motioned towards Matt saying to René, "See? He wasn't lying."

"Okay, okay," she said in a dismissive tone.

Xander was hurt the tiniest bit. "You thought I was lying about my brother?"

"Well, yeah." René answered. "No one else, and I really mean no one else, came with any of their brothers or sisters if they had any."

"How would you know that?"

"Well… you noticed how everyone leaves every else alone? Except for you two, none of us know anyone else here. If they were brother or sister or whatever, they'd stick together, like you guys."

That was very perceptive of her. It was pretty impressive actually, considering she was only six.

"Well, I can't argue with that."

"I don't know about you guys," Matt interrupted, "but I'm going to follow the rest of the group and get some food"

Xander smiled, "Not arguing with that either. Let's go." All four of them followed the group to the barracks and ate their fill. They then went to bed and slept till the next day began.


End file.
